Tristar Fleet

[Gsxr600]

Is there any information yet out there about the Tristar fleet? Is there a projected draw down or will most of the fleet continue to serve up to March 2014 and then be withdrawn en masse?

I asked pretty much the same question to some of the crew I met at Brize. The response was everything was in flux and an extension to some or all of the fleet past March was quiet possible. It will all come down to whether the Voyagers can cover everthing by then. Officially though I believe all airframes will be out of service my March. Whether that means they'll be scrapped or sold I don't know but would be interested to find out.

[NewquayVC10]

G'day to the forum from sunny Sydney, when its not covered in smog from the bush fires anyway. been down here for the fleet review including a nice flypast by a connie.
one of the facinations of the VC10 tanker fleet was its uniqueness as a tanking solution (no one else had them and for me the Tristar has the same qualities in some respects, its not a brit but does have RR engines). I hope that as the fleet runs down, we can give this good servant to the RAF the credit that she deserves, Maybe a thread like this could follow the survivors with news? Life will be much less interesting with only A330s once they are gone

[ranger one one]

Just to continue this thread I have attached a photo of ZE706 and ZD949 at Marshalls Cambridge. (28th Nov)

As you see they are just about in the land of the living but as mentioned elsewhere their demise will come next year.

Cheers

Bob

[Jazz707]

Interesting shot, and will be interesting to see what happens next year.

I presume Cambridge is only being used as long as the Tristar is in service, with support from Marshalls. No doubt the place isn't big enough to take all the retired aircraft next year, nor is it a breakers yard. I heard a whisper the remaining 7 aircraft will be going to Scampton, which certainly looks like it does have the space, with plenty of empty hard stands around the airfield. Can anyone confirm the plan?

Exactly when the Tristar is retired next year... who knows. But whats the chances of the reported six months extension option being used, beyond the end of March? Pretty good?!

[Gsxr600]

Still far from certain what will happened with the Falklands deployment, as sending a Voyager to be stationed permanently is an expensive option I would have thought, despite it being in the contract to cover the Falklands. I read somewhere that C130s may be used for refueling for the Falklands in the longer term. My guess is a Tristar or two will be retained as long as possible to avoid having to send a Voyager down there.

[Tonkenna]

I am sure Voyager will be in the Falklands as planned...

Had the pleasure of flying on a 216 jet the other day... nice to get a chance to fly on one for one last time...


Tristar Wing over the Alps by ZZ330, on Flickr


Tristar Wing in DLC by ZZ330, on Flickr

Tonks

[ACLVC10]

Nice shots Tonks

[Craig]

Still far from certain what will happened with the Falklands deployment, as sending a Voyager to be stationed permanently is an expensive option I would have thought, despite it being in the contract to cover the Falklands. I read somewhere that C130s may be used for refueling for the Falklands in the longer term. My guess is a Tristar or two will be retained as long as possible to avoid having to send a Voyager down there.

I expect the Tristar will stay "Down South" as long as possible, but it will be Voyager that replaces it. The Voyager has already taken over the Airbridge, just a case of sorting the AAR portion now. Having a single AAR Herk just isn't going to happen, a single non-standard bit of kit would be rather unhelpful.

[Craig]

On the subject of which, does anyone know which one is deployed at present? I know it was ZD951, but as that one's acquired tail art now it must be back at Brize!

[Simon Tidswell]

Does anyone have news on the date of withdrawl?

[Ron]

Initial indications were that the Tristar fleet following withdrawal would ferry to Bruntingthorpe for scrapping.

Regretfully, this is no longer case. All of the current airworthy fleet are expected instead to be scrapped in the United States, the tender having been won by a US-based Company.
Clearly the two at Cambridge will be scrapped there.

Personally I'm gutted !

[Jazz707]

Interesting update Ron, do you have any word on where in the States?

Is this confirmed now... any official news?

Initial chat was Scampton, with all their empty hard stands to be used for parking the Tristars. More recently, Kemble has been quoted (for storage/scrapping by ASI). Infact a thread on Fighter Control has "ZD952 is due for storage at Kemble around March". This and ZE704 & ZE705 being suggested as the first three to be retired.

Never saw any reference to Brunty getting them.

[Ron]

No idea where in the States, I have just been advised that the UK bidders were surprisingly undercut and consequently that is where they were going. No doubt I will eventually find out who - and where - once I know I'll post.

The Scampton rumour was a bit of a strange one, seeing as in the UK aircraft can only be cut up by approved contractors at approved facilities. As with the disposal of household waste these days, the correct waste (parts, materials etc etc) has to go into the correct bins, stored in the correct bins/containers, and removed from site in the correct manner. A time consuming and costly business. As far as I know, Scampton has no such approvals but with time and money, a contractor could get approval for scrapping there, but I would have thought unlikely.

The main two fully approved contractors in the UK are GJD at Bruntingthorpe and ASI at Kemble. Clearly both of these have the space to park such aircraft as they await their fate. They along with other contractors tendered for the disposal of the Tristars but neither were successful. Interestingly, the last aircraft that have flown to the UK for scrapping (the three Qatar Airways A300F's and the latest Cathay 747) were rumoured to be going for scrapping at Kemble yet the tender had been won by GJD at Bruntingthorpe. Another example of the rumour mill going into overtime. This was made worse by Qatar Airways flight ops filing a plan plan by mistake for one of the A300F's into Kemble. That convinced some that was the proof they should have gone to ASI at Kemble!! One thing that is for certain with the scrapping of airliners these days, the aviation world is always full of rumours. Individuals always know as they've been told by someone 'in the know' who knows someone 'in the know', and so on....

As with the final disposals of the VC10s, the 'stories' that were floating around were many and varied. The real situation is never really known these days until something actually happens !!
I've tried to bribe the powers that be with a pint that the decision to send the Tristars to the States is overturned, but somehow I doubt that will happen !

[Magnum]

Would have been nice to have a Tristar with one of the 10's at Brunty.

Maybe offer a few more pints Ron.

[Jazz707]

Agreed Ron, the real situation will be interesting to know, when its officially confirmed.

Yes, the Scampton story did raise eyebrows, with the issues you mention about getting contractors in. I guess the same applies with the pair at Marshalls as well.

Aside from getting into the 'lets save one alongside a VC-10', Kemble would certainly be a better location for them to be seen, with Brunty's restrictions. If its the States though, i'll be there in three months time, so would certainly try and catch up with any there then... wherever it may be!

Although the UK has certainly 'joined the game' with aircraft salvage, the States is still the main place. As well as ASI & GJD, there is the outfit and St Athan, and Sycamore at my old local, Teesside, who have had nine aircraft 'processed' there so far, the largest being a LOT B767. Even with these companies, most airliners from the UK still head over to the US for storage and scrapping, for example the Monarch A300's (newsworthy at the moment), all going to Tupelo. So, if confirmed, the Tristars will be more of the same...